BEMIDJI, Minn. (Sept. 17, 2009) — The Bemidji Concert Series kicks off its 2009 fall performance schedule Sunday, Sept. 27, with a chamber music program featuring members of the Minnesota Orchestra. The concert will begin at 7:30 p.m. in the Thompson Recital Hall of Bemidji State University’s Bangsberg Fine Arts Complex.

The concert will feature a string quartet of Julie Ayer and Catherine Schubilske on violin, Thomas Turner on viola and Katja Linfield on cello. It will also include a brass sextet of Charles Lazarus, Robert Dorer and Douglas Carlsen on the trumpet, Douglas Wright on trombone, Michael Gast on the French horn and Steve Campbell on tuba.

The concert is part of the Minnesota Orchestra’s UPbeat Greater Minnesota program, which was launched in Feb. 2005. The program started with a Young People’s Concert, conducted by Music Director Osmo Vänskä in Willmar, Minn. In early March of that year, a string quartet visited Virginia, Minn. to mark the beginning of UPbeat’s partnership with that town. Brainerd joined as the third UPbeat partner in Jan. 2006.

UPbeat Greater Minnesota builds on the foundation of more than a decade of residencies the orchestra has undertaken in communities across the state. An UPbeat community enters into a three-year partnership with the orchestra, planning activities centered around bringing the musicians and music of the orchestra into the community. Activities may include chamber ensemble residencies, master classes for school and community performing ensembles, school visits and presentations, public concerts, professional development opportunities for area artists and educators and a full Minnesota Orchestra concert in the community during a state tour. There are three communities in partnership at any given time with a new community included as another completes the program.

The UPbeat program is made possible in part by a grant from the Bush Foundation.

The Bemidji Concert Series, now in its eighth season, is presented by Bemidji State University’s Department of Music and attracts world-class musicians for performances as a service to the Bemidji community and the northern Minnesota region. Season ticket packages are available now. Performances will be held at the Bemidji High School Auditorium and the Thompson Recital Hall of Bemidji State’s Bangsberg Fine Arts Complex.

Ticket packages
Regular season tickets and membership packages may be ordered by contacting Bemidji State’s Department of Music or visiting the department’s office on the second floor of Bemidji State’s Bangsberg Fine Arts Complex. Tickets are also available at Lueken’s Village North or Tutto Bene. Individual event tickets are available for $20 for the general public and $5 for students, with the exception of the Feb. 28, 2010 Doc Severinsen concert, which will be $25 for the general public, $30 for reserved seating and $5 for students. Tickets, if available, will also be sold at the door prior to each show.

History and sponsorship
The Bemidji Concert Series began eight years ago with the goal of making Bemidji the cultural center for northern Minnesota and providing the Bemidji region with music that could not commonly be heard without traveling to the Twin Cities.

The series is supported by sponsorships from the Bemidji State University Department of Music, Bemidji “Pioneer,” the Villa Calma Bed & Breakfast, Paul Bunyan Telephone and the BSU Student Activity Allocation Committee.

For more information, please call the Department of Music at (218) 755-2915.